So today I did something pretty crazy, for me. I went, by myself, to meet a bunch of people I'd never met before.

It was the Melbourne Vintage Society's monthly meet-up today, something I had just been introduced to by Jess (who ended up being too sick to come, poor thing!) and I was completely of two minds as to whether I would go, despite the enthusiastic "count me in!" I'd mustered up when RSVP-ing via twitter.. In fact even while I was on my way there the nasty voice in my head was urging me to just stay on the tram, tell them I couldn't make it, just bail.

Rather uncharacteristically though, I didn't listen.

This is a pretty big deal for me, as a person who struggles with social interaction even with people I already know half the time.. I'm pretty surprised and proud of myself.

I was probably not the most talkative person (nerrrrves!), but everyone was super lovely, and I'm really glad I went and ate scones, drank tea and talked about all manner of things with them.

This skirt I made using the same pattern as the red one I made earlier, only this time I changed the sizing up a little bit and also lined it in black satin.. Seriously every time I make something that is lined I love it 80% more than I would something I don't line.. I really have to stop being so lazy and just make lining for everything because it is SO worth it!!!

Also I learnt that sewing with satin is a bitch and next time I really should just spend the few dollars on some real lining fabric rather than just trying to make do haha.

I have quite a lot of this dark green fabric left over, so I'm thinking a cute, cropped matching jacket would be a nice idea!

"A travel wardrobe is personal. It will change from trip to trip. It is a condensation of your regular wardrobe, not a separate entity. After all, you’re still the same person whether you’re at home or far away, and you’ll want familiar garments with you. Never cut your gear so close that you leave your personality behind.”- excerpt from Wife Dressing: The Art of Being a Well Dressed Wife by Anne Fogarty (1959)

So the countdown is on - less than 2 weeks until I leave cold stormy Melbourne and touch down in hopefully-somewhat-warmer Los Angeles for our 2 month and 27 day trip!

I don't think I could be more excited, we have been waiting and saving for this for what seems like forever and now the final weeks of waiting are upon us!

Of course, my head is abuzz with all of the things that need doing (vaccinations, pet care, money stuff..) and naturally I have been trying to work out the most important part first - what clothing am I going to bring with me??!

Being the over-planner that I am, I have of course already thought about this. In an effort to leave as much extra space in my suitcase (in case I just happen to pick anything up!) but also not be left completely without options I have devised a totally mix-and-matchable, multi-season 24 piece wardrobe (not including accessories).

I was inspired by the lovely Annika's awesome mix and matching skills, and basically decided I would take double the amount she usually uses, seeing I'll be gone for almost 3 months.

Here is my initial wardrobe plan, via polyvore so some pieces are representative of the actual item:

I've already made a few changes, and I'm sure there will be more to come.

As you can see I've kept to a colour scheme of grey, black, white, yellow, red and denim, with a few brown accessories thrown on for good measure.

I'm excited to see how this goes - I am a person who doesn't really like wearing the same outfit twice, so this is going to be pushing it a bit for me and I would still like to try and retain a bit of vintage style but I think I can do it!

This is what I wore yesterday to the city/Fitzroy to do a little shopping for Eli. I realised that I was on the verge of keeping this dress for "special" occasions, so I decided to dress it down a little and just wear it - it's too pretty to stay in my wardrobe and hardly be worn!

I think I've reached a point with my hair where I don't mind so much what the curls do once they're brushed.. I'm not so precious about them and don't mind if they get a little mussed up while I go about my day-by-day. After all, I'm sure they had wind back in the day and I doubt ladies got about with their beautiful hair covered up all of the time!

Also, can we talk about how ADORABLE these shoes are, and the fact that they are from RIVERS*, who currently have SO MANY gorgeous, vintage-inspired shoes?!?!?!? Whaaaat?!?!?! I had a look on their website and I swear I wanted everything.

* I don't know if they have Rivers anywhere other than Australia, but they are a rather daggy store, infamous for their horriblecommercials (and those aren't even the worst ones).

Eeeeeep! I can't believe that in exactly 2 WEEKS I'll be boarding a plane with my love for our very first overseas adventure!!

It is crazy exciting, as well as incredibly daunting, to think we'll be wanderers for the next (almost) 3 months. And when we get back the adventure continues; we have both resigned from our 9-5's and will be attempting to have a much more creatively fulfilling lifestyle.

We're off to visit Eli's parents for Christmas and then next year we already have planned a trip to Bali for my sisters birthday, and maybe Japan later in the year!

But I'm getting ahead of myself. This trip consist of two weeks on the west coast with a big group of friends, then a month and a half just Eli and I driving wherever we please while we make our way across to Chicago, IL. From there we ditch the rental and hop on a train to spend two weeks in New York before flying home with a stopover in Vietnam for 10 days with my parents. Phew!!

We already have an idea of where we'd like to visit, and have drawn out a rough map, but we want to go with the flow as much as possible, and if we miss out on a few places or don't get to stay somewhere as long as we might like its no big deal - we can always come back!!

Does anyone have any suggestions of places to visit? We're pretty open minded since its our first trip, but we won't be too disappointed if we don't make it everywhere.. Anywhere is good for us!

There is so much left to do still over the next little bit, and I'm sure it's going to FLY past!

Last night was my works End of Financial Year party, which was an "Old Hollywood Glamour" theme.

Initially I was going to go with a red sparkly number but it didn't fit too well and I couldn't find the fabric I needed to make the alterations I wanted to do.

I almost decided not to go, but then a week before I decided to sew up something from scratch instead!

Nothing like an epic last minute sewing project!!

I already had some scalloped blue lace, so I decided to use that up and started looking on etsy at dresses and dress patterns for inspiration.

Deciding what colour to go with the lace was hard, I couldn't decide on a cream or dark blue, but ended up going with the blue as I had decided that I wanted something I could potentially wear again to less formal events - the blue just looked a bit less flashy.

After I had purchased the fabric I came across this pattern on the Vintage Pattern Wiki which was pretty much exactly what I had in mind, so I used it as my guide and came up with this dress. Once again I used my trusty New Look 6132 pattern for the bodice, however I altered it a bit to make the front seams into an "S-curve" shape - which is used to make the bodice lay flat and tight about the ribs, and then curve up into the bust line, giving it more of a 50's silhouette.

For the skirts I used 3 metres of each fabric, and gathered them using this method which was a million times easier and I don't think I'll be doing it the ordinary way anymore!

I also wore my petticoat underneath to give it extra pouff.. I definitely had the biggest skirt of the night!

The over-skirt does up with hook-and-eyes rather than a bow as I was going to wear a belt over it.

I ended up wearing different shoes on the night - just plain black pumps because I felt that these ones along with the length of the dress were a bit stump-ifying on me.

There was a best dressed competition, which I was nominated for and came in 3rd to two guys both wearing something more "costumey", but I got a lot of compliments all night about how authentic I looked and how nice the dress was.. It's always extra nice to get a compliment about something you've made yourself!

I bought it from Ahaishopping.com after seeing it on the lovely Ester.. It was just too adorable not to buy, and cheap too!

I actually received it a couple of weeks ago, but before it had even gotten here I had decided that I needed to wear it with a matching red pencil skirt.

Only problem was, I didn't have a red pencil skirt.. hmm.

So last night I whipped up this super easy skirt from a pattern in my stash..

Yay, matching! I'm actually also planning on making a hat from the same fabric, using this tutorial. Maybe with a bow on it? Yes, I think so.

I've been a little sew-crazy lately, this skirt is actually the second project I've completed this week.. although you'll have to wait until the weekend to see the other one, I'm SO excited to wear it on Friday night!!!

I've worn this skirt a couple of times on the blog already, but I don't think I have really mentioned how much I love it. It's an amazing colour, it fits my small waist but doesn't cling obscenely to my "curves", it is the perfect length and it was $2 :)

I don't love how wrinkled it gets after a day of sitting down at my desk though. Humph.

I've been looking to wear this houndstooth vest of my sisters in an outfit for ages now, but every time I put it on it just doesn't feel right.. I think it's just very bold and I don't usually wear bold prints as tops, so I just let it do its thing and stuck to block colours for the rest of the outfit.

I also really liked my hair set today, it ended up feeling very casual and not as "done" as it usually does, which was kind of nice for once!

Excuse all the hand-on-head poses.. Today was SO windy I am literally holding my hat on my head despite it being pinned on.

My work doesn't allow "head coverings" other than for religious purposes, but that doesn't stop me from seeing what I can get away with every now and then. Today was a success, no one said anything heh.

I'm feeling a little 1930's (correct me if I'm wrong!) french sailor-esque in this outfit, I've had this cardigan literally since I was 17 and have gone to throw it out many a time but something has always held me back - I'm glad I didn't get rid of it in the end!

Hi guys! This outfit features a couple of firsts (and a couple of erm, basically one millions) - I got a couple of snoods off eBay a little while ago and this was the first time I have worn one.. I have to say I LOVE it. Such an easy way to get a bit of vintage hair style action when your hair is just not cooperating, you feel lazy or, like me, you are giving your hair a break and a coconut oil treatment!

I'm also wearing a petticoat for the first time (also from eBay), and while I really like it I'm actually thinking I might need to make one myself in a nice soft cotton to wear under my skirts day-to-day, rather than this super-pouffy tulle creation which gives me a bit of an extreme look for day time.

I'll probably get more wear out of this one for going out or even under circle skirts.

See that little peek of my new petticoat? It is so windy today!!!

I've been doing lots and lots of reading of forums over on The Fedora Lounge, and I have to say the information I've been absorbing has been so helpful for me building a more vintage look. While I can't really afford to buy vintage everything at the moment I have definitely created a list of clothing and accessories that I am considering my "vintage wardrobe basics" and am going to slowly try to make or buy (very cheaply) everything on it! So, petticoat and snoods get a big tick off the list!